Artwork for podcast The Daily Note with James A. Brown
The Death of the neighborhood store
16th October 2025 • The Daily Note with James A. Brown • James A. Brown
00:00:00 00:01:00

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Gold Crest Electronics wasn't pretty. Shelves sagging with tubes, knobs, pieces of things you couldn't name—but they could.

You'd walk in: "I need that little thing with the prongs that plugs into the other thing." Somehow they knew exactly what you meant. Five minutes later, problem solved.

Now it's a convenience store. Another casualty of our convenience culture.

Look, I love online shopping. Find anything, anytime, anywhere. But here's the bargain: We got speed and selection. We lost the guy who could translate your nonsense into exactly what you needed.

So what do you think? What knowledge disappeared when your neighborhood expert closed shop?

Let me know on jamesabrown dot net. On that note, I'm James A. Brown, and as always, be well.

Takeaways:

  • This episode highlights the nostalgic loss of local electronic shops and their unique expertise.
  • We explore how online shopping offers convenience but sacrifices personal customer service and knowledge.
  • James A. Brown reflects on how our convenience culture has eliminated local experts from our communities.
  • The podcast raises questions about what specialized knowledge we've lost in the digital shopping age.

Links referenced in this episode:

Companies mentioned in this episode:

  • Goldcrest Electronics


This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis:

Podcorn - https://podcorn.com/privacy

Transcripts

Speaker A:

This is the Daily Note.

Speaker A:

I'm James A.

Speaker A:

Brown.

Speaker A:

Goldcrest Electronics wasn't pretty.

Speaker A:

Shelves sagging with tubes, knobs, pieces of things you couldn't name, but they could.

Speaker A:

You'd walk in and say, I need that little thing with the prongs that plugs into the other thing.

Speaker A:

And somehow they knew what you meant.

Speaker A:

Five minutes later, problem solved.

Speaker A:

Now it's a convenience store.

Speaker A:

Another casualty of our convenience culture.

Speaker A:

Look, I love online shopping.

Speaker A:

Find anything anytime.

Speaker A:

But here's the bargain.

Speaker A:

We got speed and selection, but lost a guy who could translate your nonsense into exactly what you needed.

Speaker A:

So what do you think?

Speaker A:

What knowledge disappeared?

Speaker A:

Will your neighborhood expert close shop?

Speaker A:

-:

Speaker A:

On that note, I'm James A.

Speaker A:

Brown, and as always, be.

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